


Show You Mine, Show Me Yours

by tyrionlannistre



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-23 01:20:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7461012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tyrionlannistre/pseuds/tyrionlannistre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iris West is an ace reporter out to reveal Barry Allen’s secret after she discovers he’s the Flash.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Show You Mine, Show Me Yours

**Author's Note:**

> Posting from Tumblr onto AO3. Weeeeeeeee.

It starts with the little things, like the sound of his voice and the buildings he runs to after he’s saved another life. Soon come the glimpses of his profile when he takes off his mask and thinks no one is looking, talking into his earpiece to a _Caitlin_ and _Cisco_ whose names are oddly familiar. 

They’re tiny clues that amount to nothing on their own but fill the gaps of her story after she finds a CCPD pen on the floor in the aftermath of a red and yellow blur. 

Iris recognizes him immediately. He passes her in the precinct’s hallway, so awkward and gangly as he bumps into three or four officers on his way to the stairs. She feels admittedly _disappointed_ that this kid is Central City’s great hero, and Iris almost doubts to trust her instinct at all. 

Then he stops at the top of the stairway, eyes narrowing below him. It’s only the gust of wind that lifts her hair and the commotion around her - guards suddenly with a cuffed man struggling in their grips - that confirms him once and for all. Iris finds him in the same spot, and it makes it impossible to see anyone but the Flash in his smile now.

“Hi - excuse me?” she pulls the attention of an officer. “Who is that?”

The officer follows her pointed finger and looks back at her, lifting a brow. “Allen? You’re asking about _Barry Allen_?”

Barry’s eyes are already on her when she glances to him, red in his cheeks in a way that’s sort of adorable as he quickly scrambles away. But adorable isn’t enough to deter her from uncovering her biggest story yet. 

Iris West is going to expose Barry Allen’s secret.

*

Barry is a creature of habit. He has a routine that he rarely deters from unless he’s called upon. Where the Flash is exciting and unpredictable, zipping from one end of the city to another in the blink of an eye, Barry Allen goes to work in the mornings and STAR Labs in the evenings with an occasional visit to Jitters. 

Iris plans it perfectly, then. It’s early Thursday morning that she lingers by the condiments table and waits for Barry to walk in. She knows he comes to Jitters at 8:00 AM today, like he has for the last two weeks. He’ll stumble in, wearing that checkered button-up and sweater outfit he likes so much, and mutter about being late. 

He’s always late, and Iris can forgive the irony of it because he still manages to hold the door open for others and let little old ladies cut him in line. She finds herself smiling in thought at how one elderly woman even offered a piece of chocolate from her purse for his kindness. 

When the door finally opens at the precise strike of the new hour, the door swings open and Barry is there, sweet smile and all. 

Thursday, Iris learns, is just far enough into the week that Barry’s happy, but not quite the weekend so he needs that extra pump of espresso to near the finish line. She busies herself with fixing her own lukewarm coffee now, adding milk as she peeks over her shoulder. Barry makes his order, and the barista slides his drink across the counter with a wink that is _entirely_ unprofessional. 

It does well in emitting a giggle from Barry’s mouth that scrunches his face so adorably. 

Iris almost misses her cue but does well in turning just as Barry steps to the condiments, extending her body those couple of extra inches so she runs right in the middle of his chest. 

“Oh my _-_ I’m - ” 

She looks down to his sweater expecting to see her spilled coffee. He’s dry, though, and her cup is held securely in one hand while he steadies her with the other. In fact, it’s _his_ coffee that falls to the ground.

“I’m so _sorry_ ,” Barry gapes, looking her over. “I-I-I can be so careless sometimes. Oh gosh, are you okay?”

It’s embarrassing, really, how the words get stuck in her throat; some parts in amazement that she’s on the receiving end of his heroics - civilian clothes or no, Barry Allen _is_ the Flash - and a larger part of her is startled. How had she never noticed his eyes are green? 

They blink at her, then, worried and expecting. 

“I, uh,” Iris swallows the thick knot in her throat and tries to recover. With a practiced, coy smile that has broken many men before, she waves it off. “I’m fine. Really. In my hurry, I don’t always watch where I’m going. I should be the one apologizing.”

“No, no. This happens way more than I’d like to admit,” Barry mutters. His face is a bright red, and Iris doesn’t have to fake the laugh that bubbles in her chest. 

“I’m Iris, by the way,” she says. “Iris West.” 

His mouth opens and closes, clearly caught off guard by her introduction. “Um, Allen. Barry Allen - oh gosh, that’s confusing. Allen and Barry can both be first names but my name is actually Bartholomew shortened to Barry…and Allen, um, just happens to be my, uh, last name.” 

Barry bows his flushed face, and the color chases the skin down his neck. _Red is a good look for him_. 

“Well, Barry Allen, do you have somewhere to be this morning or can I buy you another drink?” 

“No, you can’t.” 

Barry’s blunt answer catches her by the same surprise evident in his face, but he’s stammering with that red blush again. “I just mean, oh god. No, of course you can, but - um, I am _so_ late for work and Captain Singh will hang me for everyone to see if I’m not there in - ” He glances at his watch and pales. “Five minutes ago.”

“Rain check, then?” She bites on her lip and bounces on her toes in an added effort to sway him. His gaze drops to her mouth before he nods blindly to her invitation. She reaches for a pen from her bag and writes a number across her coffee cup that he still cradles protectively. “As a token of my appreciation for playing hero today.” 

There’s a certain satisfaction she gets from leaving men dumbfounded, usually unprepared for her direct behavior and biting wit. But when she leaves Barry staring after her, it’s only a childish kind of giddiness that adds a skip to her walk.

Iris convinces herself that it’s only because she has the Flash in the palm of her hands and absolutely _not_ because his eyes are so pretty.


End file.
